Composite shoe



Oct. 31, 1939. E. RICHTER 2,178,025 COMPOSITE SHOE Filed Feb. 8, 1939 fVMWIIIIIIIIIIII/IIIl/lI/l/I/l/I/I/I/Il/IA Patented a. 31, 1939 PATENTOFFICE COMPOSITE SHOE Eduard Richter, Sagan, Germany ApplicationFebruary 8, 1939, Serial No. 255,340 In. Germany February 25, 1938 2Claims.

This invention relates to a composite shoe, particularly a slipper,whose upper is detachably inserted with its lower edge in an innergroove of the upright edge of the outsole and held there- 0 in by meansof. a sock or insole.

The invention eliminates the defects of the known composite shoes byproviding a novel connection between the upper and the outsole, whichconsists in fitting the inwardly projecting edge of the outsole and thelower edge of the upper with wire rings of approximately equal size, thewire ring of the upper being inserted in a groove below the wire ring ofthe outsole and held by.

an insole possessing wedge-shaped grooves at the 5 front and rear roundportions of its lateral face use of flexible wires as fastening membersis not 25 open to the objection of interfering with the elasticity ofthe shoe and rendering it uncomfortable when worn.

As the shoe can be easily disassembled, the

parts thereof can be more thoroughly cleaned.-

39 Furthermore, smaller repairs can be made at home, and if the upper isworn out, the other parts may be united with a new upper of fabric whichcan also be made at home without much trouble.

35 Owing to the novel manner of fastening, the

' upper may be turned and worn on the other side as for instance in caseof gloves. The upper may further comprise several diflerent layers ofmateii al held together only at the lower edge by the 4 joint wire ring,which may be turned at will to bring one or the other layer to theoutside. Such a shoe can be turned not only twice but several times andthus enables women for instance to wear shoes to match with theirdresses without 45 having to buy a new pair of shoes for each dress. Byproducing the uppers at home personal taste can be satisfied to anyextent. In an upper comprising two or more layers the heel and toe may,moreover, be readily stiflened by placing suitable 50 insertions betweentwo layers, which will not be visible from the outside. a

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figures 1 to 4 show aslipper separated into its 55component parts, Figs. 1 and 2 being longitudinal Fig. 5;

Figs. 7 and 8 are, respectively, a side view and an enlarged partialsection on the line 8--8, of m Fig. '7, of a womans shoe; and

r Fig. 9 is a central longitudinal section of an upper comprising aplurality of layers.

The upper a made from soft leather, textile fabric or similar flexiblematerial is adapted to the form of the foot and closed at the sides butopen on top and below and has a stifiened yet still flexible lower edgewhich in the construction shown forms a sort of hem provided with a ring21 of steel wire, 'etc. The outsole c has an upright and inwardly bentedge y, also stifiened by an inserted wire ring d having the same lengthas the wire 22 of the upper. The ring 12 is secured to the extreme edgeof a fabric layer I worked in between two layers 0, c of leather,rubber, etc., which form the outsole, the layer I being for in- 25stance pasted together with the two layers c, c. Below the wireinsertion d the inside of the edge 0 has'a groove for receiving thestiffened lower. edge of the upper a. The upright edge of the outerlayer 0 is bevelled upwardly, and the visible edge of the outsole c hastherefore a shape similar to that of an ordinary shoe. A heel h whichmay be flat or high as required is firmly united with the outsole c.

The third part of the composite shoe is an in-' 85 sole 2' made ofleather, rubber, etc., and shown in Figs. 2 and 3. This insole is so cutthat after insertion of the upper 11 it completely fills the innerspaceof the outsole c limited by the upright edge andis so thick thatwhen inserted in 40 the outsole 0 its surface will be on a slightlyhigher level than the upright edge 9 of the outsole c. The portion ofthe insole i lying above the edge g is extended to form a flange k whichall around overlaps the edge a of the outsole 0 so that, as shown inFig. 6, the two side surfaces of the insole i are stepped. At the frontand rear round portions of the insole i, however. inwardly taperinggrooves m are formed, and the portions of the insolei positioned abovethe grooves m form again flanges k which overlap. the sections of theupright edge 0 at the toe and rear round portion. The pointed loweredges '1: below the grooves m are so dimensioned and formed that theywill engage the inner groove flhdbythereargroovem. Whentheinsoleiisthereupon pressed down to be incomplete contact with the outsole c, thetwo wedge-shaped groovesmmfixtheinsertedupperatothe outsole c whilesimultaneously the straight side faces of the sole positioned below theflanges 10 overlapping the two inserted wires b, d secure the lateralsections of the wires b, d in assembled position, as the side faces ofthe insole i are so close to the wires that the lower wire I) of theupper 'acannotpassanymore thesuperposedwiredof the edge a of the outsolee. The shoe can be disassembled again only after removal of the insolei, which can be readily eifected by pulling up the central section ofthis sole.

The women's shoe shown inl 'igs. 'l and 8 diifers from the shoe shown inFigs. 1 to 6 in that the outsole c comprises three layers of leather orrubber instead of two. The lowermost layer is thicker thanthe other twolayers and forms a sostrongandhighlyresistanttreadsothat theshoecanbeusedalso for rough wearasa street shoe, etc. The heel h issuitably secured to the layer 0. The shoe is composed of threedetachably connectible parts, viz., the upper a, the out- 45 sole c andthe insole i which holds the other two parts together.

As the upper a consists of flexible material, it

be easily turned to bring its inside to the out- The possibility ofusing both sides of the will be appreciated not only when one side edand cannot be cleaned at once, as frequen'tly happens in case offabric-shoes, but msures also longer life of the shoe which is usuallydiscarded when the upper becomes unsightly and damaged. If shoes are notsymmetrical, the upper associated prior to turning with the outsole ofthe left shoe must after turning be united with the outsole of the rightshoe, and vice versa. In case of symmetrical shoes, such as slippers,each upper, regardless of the side thereof that is to be worn on theoutside, fits the outsole of either the right or left shoe.

Fig. 9 indicates that an upper may be composed of a plurality ofdifferently colored or patterned layers a of fabric or leather or ofmixed fabric and leather. In the example shown four different layers areprovided. By making both sides of each layer different eight diiierentlylooking shoes can be produced while using one and the same upper a,outsole c and insole i so that women may have a shoe to match for eachdress. The various layers are firmly united at the lower edge supportingthe wire insertion b, for instance by sewing, but are loosely superposedat the upper edge and over the entire middle surface. Correspondingly,if two or three layers are used, uppers in four or six colors can beproduced.

The invention is not restricted to the embodiments shown and describedbut may be varied in several ways without departing from its fundamentalidea.

I claim:

1. A composite shoe, comprising an upper having a stiffened yet flexiblehem-like lower edge, a wire ring provided in the lower edge of theupper, an outsole having an upright inwardly bent and internally groovededge detachably receiving the wire ring of the upper, a wire ring havingapproximately the same size as said first ring for stiffening the edgeof the outsole and being disposed above the groove, a heel firmly unitedwith the outsole and a detachable insole having a fiange overlapping theedge of the outsole and tapering grooves at its front and rear roundportions, in which said two rings are partly held in super posed order,the remaining sections of the rings being held by the side edges of theinsole.

2. A composite shoe according to claim 1, in which the upper comprises aplurality of different layers of material jointly held together at thelower edge and capable of being selectively turned to bring one or theother side of each of said layers to the outside.

EDUARD RICHTER.

